Lovingly making a selection of hors d’oeuvres that strike a gentle balance between tasty and nutritious. I will share these pretty plates of deliciousness with girlfriends at a friend’s house tonight while we gorge on reality TV. In my absence, my family will dine on a hastily-bought frozen lasagna. #Priorities
I just gave my two year old a snack of homemade Greek yogurt, raw nuts, homemade stewed peaches (that we hand picked together as a family. Organic, obviously), chia seeds and cacao nibs. But now I don’t know whether to upload a photo to Instagram, or smack myself in the face really hard. I’m conflicted. It’s a very conflicting moment.
(Originally published in the October/November 2015 edition of Little Treasures Magazine) I always imagined myself having two kids one day. Girls, boys, one of each…that never bothered me, but I really wanted two. For a while, it looked like we might struggle to even have one, and the day I saw two blue lines appearing on a white stick remains one of the happiest of my life. My husband was a somewhat reluctant father-to-be – he was massively supportive, but I’d catch him gazing at my rapidly growing belly with a mix of what can only be described as abject terror. That all changed the second Amy was born, at which point he became The Only Man To Have Ever Become A Father, our daughter was The Most Amazing Child In The World, Ever, and he practically signed up for a second baby on the spot. Given the struggles we had getting pregnant with Amy, we got back on the baby bandwagon (almost) immediately. Surgeries for endometriosis followed, as did failed attempts at IVF, and …
(Originally published in the Jan/Feb edition of NZ Little Treasures Magazine) When both my daughters took an early shining to solids (Tilly actually flung herself from my lap, face-first, into her big sister’s mashed potato at 4.5 months, and Amy’s first tentative sentence was “more yum-yums!”), I thought we were off to a cracking start and would soon be eating as a family, every night. Then a few curve balls got in the way… Dinner Is So Early! If you’re bedding by 7, and factoring in time after dinner for bath, stories, cuddles, and even the most low-drama of pyjama putting on, you rapidly run out of evening. Both my girls descend into meltdown mode if they’re not loading their tummies by 4.55pm on a good day, so week-night dinners are often simply too early for all family members to be present for. Mess! Amy and Tilly both discovered the joys of eating and blowing raspberries simultaneously. It’s astounding how fast and far pureed pumpkin can fly from a baby’s mouth. Tilly insists on waving …
McPikelets 